Watches
by Dark Card Mistress
Summary: You can do anything. Don’t let anyone stop you. JohnElizabeth


Spoilers for "Critical Mass"

**Watches **

"That's not really what you're so bummed out about, is it?" Elizabeth looked up from playing with her pocket watch.

"Sorry?"

"You've gone a bit silent since your last talk with Kavanagh. What did he say?" She shook her head.

"It was nothing. I'm just being stupid." John sighed, got off her desk and leaned in.

"Whatever he said, don't take it so seriously." John then ruffled her hair with a protest from Elizabeth.

As she patted her hair back into place she glared at him. "Don't do that ever again." John pouted. "You can add that to the list along with calling me Liz or Lizzie or any or those names."

"You're no fun." John plopped down on the chair opposite of her.

"Thank you." Elizabeth resumed playing with her watch and John watched her. As John watched her, he saw that she was clearly depressed about something and that she wasn't going to confess anytime soon.

"So, where'd you get the watch from?" She continued to play with her watch using her pen that came with her palm pilot.

"My father and mother gave it to me when I was in high school." John held out his hand as a gesture asking if he could see it.

"Really?" She handed it to him.

He examined the watch before looking back at Elizabeth in question. "It stopped."

"I know."

"Why don't you get it fixed?"

"It broke while I was at Atlantis and it'd be a fuss if I asked someone on the Daedalus to go to the jewelers to get it fixed."

John wanted to tell her that it wouldn't, that she was wrong about the watch and about whatever Kavanagh said about her. He looked down at the watch when he felt an engraving under his thumb when he ran it over the surface along the side. There was a faint message on the side that looked faded by many years. He quickly read the message before handing it back to Elizabeth.

"Well whenever you want to talk to someone about anything, my door is always open." John smiled before he sauntered out of the room. Elizabeth looked after him with sad eyes.

---

It had been a week before John Sheppard heard a knock on his door late at night. He didn't think that she would ever see him so he didn't expect her standing in front of his door.

"Elizabeth."

"John, do you have some time?"

"Sure, come in." John signaled her to come in.

"Thanks." Elizabeth stood in the middle of the room, not sure where to sit so she sat on his bed, not seeing any chairs. The only chair he saw was being used as a wardrobe as there were shirts and pants draped over the chair. John came over and sat next to her. The only light in the room was the moonlight that shone through the balcony door.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Am I reckless when making decisions?" John did not expect that question.

"Um, not as bad as what I do," John said playfully. Elizabeth didn't smile, just kept looking at the floor. "Hey, what did he say?"

"Am I driven by emotion rather than reason?" John tried one more time to make her smile. He always hated it when Elizabeth had a frown on her face.

"Emotions towards who?" He cocked his brow but her lip didn't budge. "Is that what he said?" Elizabeth looked around the room. "Elizabeth, what you do, yes it's driven by emotion, but that's what makes you an excellent leader. If you listened to reason and left when the Wraith was attacking, we wouldn't be having this conversation. General O'Neill picked you to lead the expedition because he knew you would make the right decisions, whether if it was motivated by personal feelings or reason."

For the first time that evening, she smiled and turned to him. "Thank you."

"Besides, if it was a military commander, I'm pretty sure not even half the people would listen to him. You make everyone relaxed when doing their job and you get to know each one of them. That in my opinion makes a great leader."

"Thank you John." Elizabeth leaned over and hugged him. When she pulled back their faces were millimeters apart. They stared into each other's eyes, trying to read what the other was thinking.

John thought back to what the watch said, the watch that stopped working, the watch that belonged to Elizabeth: the woman who he had a schoolboy crush on for a very long time. Of course, he thought it was stupid that Elizabeth would ever like him back, a cocky flyboy so he didn't make a move. But now, he too listened to emotions rather than reason.

He closed the space and landed his lips softly on hers. It was sweet and innocent but it made them want each other. Just as things were getting heated, Elizabeth broke away. John looked at her questioningly as Elizabeth licked her lips.

"This doesn't effect our working relationship during hours, right?"

"Of course." She smiled.

"Great 'cos I'd hate it if you were court martialled because Kavanagh found out," Elizabeth said between kisses. John smiled before they flopped on his bed on their backs.

Back in Elizabeth's room, the stopped watch was sitting on her dresser, shining in the moonlight. On the side of the silver watch was an engraved message. _You can do anything. Don't let anyone stop you._

FIN

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